According to an 8-K filing, SunTrust Bank acted as administrative agent on an amendment to Midstates Petroleum’s senior secured credit agreement.
The amendment improved the company’s financial flexibility by removing certain restrictions for cash payments pertaining to share repurchases and dividends.
The amendment also imposed a minimum liquidity requirement of $50 million and states that Midstates’ total net indebtedness to EBITDA ratio for the most recent four fiscal quarters must not exceed 1.50:1.00 in order to make cash distributions to shareholders or to effectuate any share repurchases.
David Sambrooks, Midstates president and CEO, commented, “As we communicated in our third quarter release, given Midstates’ strong financial position and forecasted significant free cash flow generation, we have been evaluating ways to return capital to shareholders through a possible share tender, share repurchase program or cash dividends. To this end, we are very pleased with this amendment to our senior secured credit facility as it is a necessary first step to allow Midstates additional flexibility to return capital to shareholders. Our Management team and our recently modified Board are currently evaluating various options to create value for our shareholders and are energized about Midstates’ future.”
Midstates Petroleum is an independent exploration and production company focused on the application of modern drilling and completion techniques in oil and liquids-rich basins in the onshore U.S. The company focuses its operations on oilfields in the Mississippian Lime play in Oklahoma.
